Council: Voters will have say in utility

SAN MARCOS -- The City Council voted unanimously, although
somewhat begrudgingly, Tuesday to guarantee voters the final say on
whether to expand the city's electric utility.

The council approved a public education campaign that will
promote the utility, but will also give voters a guarantee that
they decide the utility's future.

In essence, the council's decision Tuesday was a move to appease
a citizens group that is working on a "right to vote" initiative.
But neither side in the debate seemed happy.

Councilman Lee Thibadeau, the most outspoken proponent of the
utility, blasted the tactics and backers of the citizens group,
alleging it is sponsored by San Diego Gas & Electric Co.

Group members Chris Orlando and Michael Sannella shot back with
allegations that the city seemed eager to spend money on a public
education campaign they said is aimed at discrediting their
initiative.

The group, Citizens for the Right to Vote, is working to get an
initiative on an upcoming ballot that would require voter approval
of any plan to expand the utility. Group members have said 6,818
people -- roughly a quarter of the city's registered voters -- have
signed their petition. The city clerk is reviewing the signatures,
which were submitted earlier this month.

The group formed this spring, shortly after the city sent
letters to dozens of companies asking them to essentially bid on
the right to provide energy for future developments. Under the
controversial plan, which was scrapped by a different council last
year, developers would assign power infrastructure to the city's
utility, Discovery Valley Utility, rather than to SDG&E.
Proposals are expected to go before the council in August.

Tuesday's vote concerned whether to award DLL Productions of
Imperial Beach a contract for $2,000 a month -- plus payment for
postage, printing and other expenses -- to produce a periodic
newsletter and other material on the city's nearly 3-year-old
utility.

The council voted 5-0 not only to award the contract, but to
print in the first newsletter that voters will be able to approve
or deny any such proposal.

The vote ended up becoming a reaffirmation of the council's
commitment to allow voters to decide whether the city's utility
should serve future developments.

Councilwoman Pia Harris-Ebert, who recommended including the
guarantee, said, "If we have a good proposal, I have faith in the
public. They'll approve it."

The unanimous vote came only after an unsuccessful 2-3 vote to
approve the public education campaign without a written guarantee
to voters. Councilman Lee Thibadeau and Mayor Corky Smith voted for
approval.

Smith said that the city's charter gives San Marcos the right to
form a utility.

"I've always said it's not necessary because we already had a
vote with the charter," Smith said.

When Vice Mayor Mike Preston-- typically in the council majority
with Thibadeau and Smith -- concurred with Harris-Ebert, Thibadeau
said, "You're not going to satisfy this group of SDG&E puppets
with a ballot measure. They're trying to kill (Discovery Valley
Utility)."

The voting issues came up only after a spirited back and forth
on the need for a public education campaign.

Defending the need for such a campaign, Thibadeau lashed out at
the right-to-vote group, saying petition gatherers were given $5 a
signature, well above the going rate, to spread inaccurate
information and that SDG&E had poured $100,000 into the
campaign.

Sannella said that signature gatherers were paid $2 a signature
and stuck to the right-to-vote issue. He was not sure of the total
amount SDG&E had contributed to the campaign, but said it was
likely at least six figures. The contributions will be filed with
the city clerk next week.

Thibadeau also criticized North County Times coverage of the
utility when calling for a public education campaign.

"We're pretty much relying on the written media to tell the
story. I don't think that's always done very well. Certainly in
North County that's not done well," Thibadeau said.

He was quoted earlier this week in the North County Times saying
the public education campaign would be "biased" and "telling the
city's side of the story."

On Tuesday, Thibadeau said he also said the literature would
"tell the truth" -- a comment that he said was made to the North
County Times. That comment was not included in the article.

Members of the right-to-vote group on Tuesday seized on
Thibadeau's quotes in the newspaper article as evidence the City
Council had its own agenda.

Sannella said spending money to campaign against the initiative
could be an illegal use of public dollars. And he said that the
utility issue has been misconstrued.

"Its not about SDG&E or DVU (Discovery Valley Utility). It's
about the right to vote," he said.

Orlando questioned the timing of the campaign.

"Why wait until days before the right-to-vote initiative is
going to be certified?" he asked.

After the council's vote, Sannella told reporters that he wasn't
reassured by the gesture.

"This is a great step and I'm glad they made it," he said. But
he noted that Preston had pledged during the 2002 campaign to put
any utility plan approved by the council to the voters, then made
statements to the contrary after being elected.